The housemates

The twelve original housemates were briefly introduced in Ang Bahay ni Kuya, being asked by Toni and Mariel to accept the key to the house and pack up. Their faces were pixelized and they were only known by their first names. They were formally introduced with their faces and real names, as well as their pasts, at the Grand Entrance Party called Ang Party ni Kuya, held on August 21, 2005.

According to ABS-CBN, all of the housemates were chosen from 25,000 people who auditioned in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao. However, there were allegations that some of the housemates did not audition at all and were chosen by the ABS-CBN management.

Bob dela Cruz

Bob (born Jun Bob Dela Cruz on August 10, 1977 in Marilao, Bulacan) was the first forcibly evicted housemate on his 50th day in Pinoy Big Brother's house.

On Day 50, Bob was brought to the hospital for observation due to stress-related symptoms and his momentary loss of consciousness the day before, all caused by a heart ailment. The next day, he was instructed never to return to the house because his 24-hour deadline to re-enter had elapsed. He did return to the house the day after his automatic eviction on Day 51 (October 9, 2005) to formally bid farewell to his fellow housemates.

Cass Ponti

Cassandra Ponti (born Lejanie Palma Anigan on March 1, 1980 in Davao City) achieved Third Big Placer. After spending 112 days inside the house, Cass garnered 214,188 votes, 18.9% of total votes, to place third in the Big Night finale.

Cass was an FHM model with the screen name Honey V. She's well known for her passion in cooking, Visayan accent, and her caring for others especially inside the Pinoy Big Brother's house. She is as well popularly known for mispronouncing her ex-boyfriend's name Jonathan as "Junathan".

Chx Alcala

Chx Alcala (born Chiqui Llamaso Alcala on June 29, 1981 in Caloocan City) was considered the most controversial housemate because of her liberated attitude towards her both male and female housemates. She was previously linked with the fellow housemates Rico and Sam. On a Luau Party for Sam Milby, Chx made-out with Sam, then later with Cass.

Chx never let Sam out of her sight during his first week in Pinoy Big Brother. [1]

During the week when both Sam and Chx were nominated, they both took a bath together a day before Chx got evicted. [2]

During her stay in the Big Brother house, several photos of her in unflattering poses were released.

Franzen Fajardo

Filipino audiences, specifically the lower-class population, supported Franzen because of his comedic and emotional nature. He was considered the underdog housemate, especially during his first month inside the house. He is also known for habitually picking his nose at all times and playing strip games with Jason inside the House.

Franzen had violated numerous house rules, but despite automatic nominations, popular vote had kept him in the House. His mouthing of words (lip-synching) became the last straw. After much deliberation, Endemol decided on Day 86 (November 15, 2005) that Franzen should be evicted.[3] However, in lieu of this, Cass (who somehow understood Franzen's "words") made up her mind to voluntarily exit from the house in exchange of his retention. Big Brother valued this and decided to let the public choose whether Franzen should stay or leave. The next day, however, voting was stopped and Franzen's automatic eviction was finalized after Franzen violated the rules again by telling Jason what happened in the confession room.

Jason Gainza

Jason Gainza (born Jayson Gainza on April 27, 1980 in Batangas City) placed first runner-up, dubbed as the Second Big Placer, during the Big Night finale. He garnered 312,258 votes, equal to 27.5% of the total votes.

Jason is married to Denden Gainza, a devoted father of 2 children, and a former Overseas Filipino Worker in Saudi Arabia. He is known for his clown attitude, his Batangueño accent, and playing tricks towards his housemates. Jason can now be seen in the Philippines' top rating teleserye "Sa Piling Mo" on ABS-CBN 2, and on the comedy show Aalog-Alog.

Jason is now a co-host in the second season as a man-of-the-street reporter.

Jenny Suico

Jenny Suico (born Jennifer Suico on February 3, 1976 in Olongapo City) is half-Filipino, half-American and a former entertainer. When she returned home from Japan from entertaining, she auditioned for Pinoy Big Brother out of boredom. She was the only housemate to enter and leave the House twice as a contestant.

The series of events that unfolded before her first, voluntary exit were extraordinary. Before Jenny left the house, she claimed a miracle happened to her. Unknown to her housemates, Jenny asked a sign from God to help end her dilemma of deciding whether to stay or leave the house. Jenny sought divine intervention and asked God to give her a sign that should a guy housemate carry her, she would opt to stay in the house but should a female housemate carry her in her arms, she would leave the house.

A night before she made her crucial decision, on their way to the kitchen for dinner, Nene carried her for no apparent reason. This prompted Jenny to finally end her mission in Pinoy Big Brother. She voluntarily left the House on Day 28 (September 17, 2005) and was replaced by Sam. Her foster father died five days later due to mulitple organ failure. Jenny didn’t know that she would eventually return to the house after a month.

When Bob was ejected on October 102005, Jenny was overwhelmingly voted by the people to return as Bob's replacement and continue her mission in Big Brother’s house. Among the four contenders of Big Brother’s Big Switch, Jenny ranked first in the final tally of votes, garnering 42% of the total votes cast.

The housemates were very surprised to see Jenny return to the House on Day 56 (October 15, 2005). They warmly welcomed her back. Jenny went back to living the Big Brother lifestyle by actively participating in the tasks and caring for her housemates. However, knowing that she already had a big advantage over them because of her “short vacation” in the outside world, the housemates decided to nominate her. She broke into tears after learning of her nomination. Jenny had difficulty accepting her fate since she knew that her family’s future clung on her survival in the house. Unfortunately, the public no longer supported her. Her first-ever nomination eventually led to her eviction on Day 84 (November 12, 2005).

Jenny is married and has one child. During her stay in the house, Jenny was linked with Jason. Jenny's husband and Jason's wife, Denden, were jealous of Jenny and Jason's closeness to one another. Both Jenny and Jason clarified that they were just "close friends".

JB Magsaysay

JB Magsaysay (born Joseph Benedict Aquino Magsaysay on July 6, 1980 in La Union) was the second evicted housemate, leaving on Day 35.

JB is from the powerful and politically inclined Magsaysay clan in Zambales. He is the grand nephew of former Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay. Known for his "bad boy" past when he was a student, JB's stubbornness and bullying ways during his grade school days in the Ateneo de Manila University led to his expulsion. He continued his high school in Kostka School in Quezon City across the Ateneo. He was arrested for drunk driving in Saipan. His family transferred between different high class subdivisions in Metro Manila until they stayed in La Union to manage their family business. During his college days he was once engaged in drugs. He graduated with a college degree at the Philippine School of Business Administration in Quezon City. His family once suffered financial problems when his father suffered from an aneurysm and they had to sell their house just to finance the medical treatment for his father.

After his eviction from the PBB House, JB had his first guesting in the horror-drama TV series Nginiig, where he played his role as a rapist with his co-housemate Rico as a rapist too and his another co-housemate Jenny as Sheryl Cruz's best friend who have been rape and killed by Rico and JB.

In the House, JB began dating fellow housemate Say. Six days after his eviction, he "re-entered" the house upon Big Brother's request to reunite with Say. The encounter was a private affair and it lasted only about 2 minutes (supposedly 100 seconds). JB "re-exited" afterwards. He had another hundred seconds with Say a couple of weeks before the Big Night. JB was hounded by rumors regarding having a love affair with young actress Angelica Panganiban, which led to his break-up with Say.

He is currently being convinced by people in his hometown to enter politics and run in the May 14, 2007 elections.

Nene Tamayo

Nene Tamayo (born Jennivev Santillan Tamayo on September 27, 1981 in Romblon, Philippines) was The Big Winner of Pinoy Big Brother's first season. She garnered 554,906 votes, or 48.9% of total votes, in the Big Night finale.

Racquel Reyes

After leaving the House, Racquel appeared on several ABS-CBN shows along with her fellow ex-housemates. She was seen in the primetime soap Mga Anghel Na Walang Langit (Angels Without Heaven) as a grade school teacher, which is akin to her real life job prior to PBB.

Rico Barrera

Prior to entering the house, Rico was a former hosto (entertainer) in Japan. He was the first housemate evicted, on his 21st day in Pinoy Big Brother's house.

After his eviction on Day 21, he had several guest appearances on ABS-CBN shows such as ASAP Mania and Nginiig. His life story was aired on Maalaala Mo Kaya. He later joined ASAP Fanatic where he had his own segment, "Ricorrespondents". He was later cast on Gulong ng Palad (Wheel of Life), an ABS-CBN soap opera. He is also in Super Inggo as an angel named "Archangel".

His next project will the fantasy series Rounin which will be released later in 2007.

Sam Milby

Sam Milby (born Samuel Lloyd Lacia Milby on May 23, 1984 in Troy, Ohio) grew up with a Filipina mother native to Tago, Surigao del Sur and an American father. He was a commercial model for Close-Up toothpaste and a print ad model for Malox. He is now a print ad model for Bench, a major clothing company, as well as a product endorser for Smart 258 and Centrum.

Sam entered the house an hour after Jenny Suico's departure to serve as her replacement. His arrival was aired the next day. Before that episode was shown on television, the official website identified him as "Housemate 'S'." During his stay, he was linked with Chx. Before his eviction, Sam composed a song entitled "Magmahal Muli" (To Love Again) with fellow housemate Say doing a duet.

He became an instant celebrity and heartthrob after leaving the House. He currently appears in a Sunday musical variety show, ASAP Mania, through his own segment as 'Sam Sessions'. He also rendered his version of Only You to ABS-CBN's Tagalog-dubbed Korean soap of the same title. Sam's first major film début will be Close to You, produced by ABS-CBN subsidiary Star Cinema and co-starring John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo. Sam also released a self-titled debut album in early 2006. A solo version of "Magmahal Muli" is included in the album, as well as "Only You" and another song also in the Pinoy Big Brother soundtrack, "I've Fallen In Love".

Say finished elementary school in SHS Sacred Heart School Paranaque, then went to the United States to continue her studies and stay with her grandmother. She went back to the Philippines to study college. A former cheerleader, she graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Manila. After she graduated she was one of ABS-CBN's student courtside reporters for NCAA in which De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde is part of. She formerly worked in a call center and briefly hosted Stoplight, Studio 23's auto show.

Say began dating fellow housemate JB during the show. After the show ended, Say broke up with JB, stating that she cannot last in a relationship without trusting each other since JB is now linked with ABS-CBN talent Angelica Panganiban.

Say has done hosting jobs for ABS-CBN's top morning show Magandang Umaga, Pilipinas as the segment host of the showbiz news. She's also co hosted Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Buzz along with co-housemate and bestfriend Uma Khouny.

Uma Khouny

Uma (born Uma Barum Khouny on November 4, 1981 in Israel) had applied for a new residential place in San Juan, Metro Manila before his stint that lasted all 112 days in the Pinoy Big Brother house. However, he only achieved Fourth Big Placer in the Big Night finale, garnering just 52,833 votes or 4.7% of the total votes.

Uma is the only housemate who never got nominated for eviction by his fellow housemates. He was known for his frank and straight-forward attitude during the series. Because of this attitude and his fear of cockroaches (blattophobia), the issue of homosexuality surfaced. However, when asked by his favorite Filipina actress Kris Aquino — who had visited them on their last week in the Pinoy Big Brother house — if he was gay, he commented that many of his colleagues thought so but
he really isn't.

During his first media conference, Uma clarified that the controversy about not being a true blue Pinoy is completely false. He reiterated that his mom is Filipino while his dad is Jewish. However, he, along with Sam Milby, had been summoned by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration to apply for a work permit and file a petition proving his Filipino lineage.

He also vehemently denies that he’s gay. In fact, Uma has stated that he’s serious about his plans to court Cass. Uma has admitted several times that he has feelings for the sexy cover girl from Davao
.

The four remaining housemates (Cass, Nene, Jason, and Uma), wearing blindfolds and headphones, were taken to Clark Expo Amphitheater from the Big Brother house in Quezon City by a private plane. They were then sequestered in a secret location before the actual live final. What was played on their headphones is the song Pinoy Ako by Orange and Lemons. It was played repeatedly until they went out in the secret location.
Despite the rains that plagued the day of the final, 30,000 people watched "The Big Night," hosted by Willie Revillame, Toni Gonzaga and Mariel Rodriguez. According to TV ratings agency AGB Philippines, the show averaged a 39% rating and peaked at a 46% rating.

The finale show lasted almost three hours and ended with fireworks as the Pinoy Big Brother house replica disintegrated to reveal Nene Tamayo as the "Big Winner."

* The hosts always stressed on air that the show lasted only 111 days. That is because their day count started on the day of the first episode's airing and not on the day the housemates entered the Big Brother House and an episode aired every night shows what happened the day before, even if there is a live broadcast. In the first two volumes of its DVD set, the day number is correctly tagged with its corresponding calendar date, but the beginning of the third volume pegs Day 92 on November 21, 2005, skipping November 20 from the day count probably to put the Big Night on "Day 111." September 25, 2005, the only day the program was not aired in the entire duration of the season, is also counted.

Template:Fnb Big Brother decided to nominate Rico for eviction after the latter showed unpleasant behavior inside his house.Template:Fnb As a newly-returned housemate Jenny was not allowed to be nominated or to nominate.Template:Fnb Chx repeatedly asked several questions about the outside world to returning housemate Jenny, so Big Brother nominated her.Template:Fnb Franzen was nominated by Big Brother for his numerous violations of house rules and for his “disrespectful behavior” when dealing with Big Brother.Template:Fnb Franzen got his second automatic nomination from Big Brother for his rampant violation of house rules the week before including writing a secret letter to his best friend Jason who was then nominated for eviction.Template:Fnb The nominations were suspended by Big Brother on account of a grave violation having been committed by one of the housemates, Franzen. Given the decision of Endemol, Big Brother called Cass into the confession room to let her know the fate of Franzen. In a very emotional moment, Cassandra offered to voluntarily exit from Big Brother's house in order to save Franzen. Because the program clearly values the magnitude of Cass' sacrifice, he has allowed the public to decide whether or not to accept this selfless act of Cass in order to save Franzen.Template:Fnb Franzen was automatically evicted from the house because he once again disobeyed Big Brother's orders. This time, he divulged info to Jason that is supposed to be kept only to himself.

Automatic Nomination (due to violation/s)

Post-Season Specials

After the first season's run ended, a series of specials were aired relating to the program.

Pinoy Big Brother Revealed

Pinoy Big Brother Revealed was a special documentary series hosted by Boy Abunda. Rather than just a behind-the-scenes look at the show, the series explores the concept, its popularity, the housemates themselves, the program's initially criticized morality, and its impact on Filipino pop culture, especially the rampant use of the show's logo, footage, and music by pirates. The first episode was shown live to accommodate the "Big Four," who were obviously inside the house during the taped interviews for the documentary.

Pinoy Big Brother: Pamasko ni Kuya

Pamasko ni Kuya (English: Big Brother's Christmas Gift) was a series where the housemates' Christmas wishes are granted by the producers of the show, especially ones that involve charity work.

Pinoy Big Brother Drama Specials

Pinoy Big Brother Drama Specials was a mini-series composed of two episodes, which showcased the acting skills of the housemates. This is a deviation from the unscripted nature of the parent show.

Franzen actually appears in both specials, though he has a brief cameo at the end of the first one.

The first drama special, entitled The Final Task, sees the first seven evicted housemates in a trip to a deserted resort in Subic, where lots of surprises are waiting for them. Bob finds out from CB radio that the person who invited them, a woman known only as "Mother" (Gloria Diaz), has been abducted by pirates. They have to both escape from the resort and rescue her before the pirates show up.

The second one, entitled Kay Tagal Kang Hinanap, has the last five housemates being called once again by Big Brother to look for fellow housemate Franzen in Baguio. Although there is a reward waiting for them upon their return to Manila, the six are not satisfied at this offer and demand Big Brother to reveal himself. It also features a cameo appearance by infamous fortune-tellerMadame Auring.

Pinoy Big Brother (Season 1) Soundtrack

Due to indemand popularity of the housemates, Star Records together with ABS-CBN, created a soundtrack of Pinoy Big Brother.
Music Videos